Declaration of a State of Emergency Extended Through November 25
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DocuSign Envelope ID: A2F926BF-AA46-40A8-981F-75A3B01615FF CITY OF MIAMI BEACH DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY EXTENDED THROUGH 11 :59 P.M. ON NOVEMBER 25, 2020 WHEREAS, coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), a severe acute respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that can spread rapidly from person to person and cause serious illness or death, constitutes a clear and present threat to the lives, health, welfare and safety of the people of the City of Miami Beach; and WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, Governor Ron Desantis issued Executive Order 20-52, declaring a State of Emergency for the State of Florida related to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak a pandemic; and WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a State of Emergency for all of Miami-Dade County due to the threats associated with COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 12, 2020, I, as City Manager for the City of Miami Beach, declared a State of Emergency for the City of Miami Beach, as COVID-19 poses a health risk to the City's residents, particularly elderly residents and those who are immunosuppressed or otherwise have high risk of medical conditions, which declaration was amended on March 13, 2020, and the findings of which are hereby incorporated by reference; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission of the City of Miami Beach unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2020-31192, authorizing the City Manager to extend the duration of the Declaration of a State of Emergency and implement discretionary emergency measures for an additional period of seven (7) days, commencing on March 12, 2020, and ending on March 19, 2020, to address the COVID- 19 pandemic and protect the public health, safety and welfare of the people of the City of Miami Beach, the findings of which are hereby incorporated by reference; and WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency due to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the Mayor and City Commission unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2020-31219, authorizing the City Manager to extend the duration of the Declaration of a State of Emergency and implement discretionary emergency measures for an additional period of seven (7) days, commencing on March 19, 2020, and ending on March 26, 2020, to address the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the public DocuSign Envelope ID: A2F926BF-AA46-40A8-981 F-75A3B01615FF Declaration of a State of Emergency November 18, 2020 Page 2 of 16 health, safety and welfare of the people of the City of Miami Beach, the findings of which are hereby incorporated by reference; and WHEREAS, the rate of infection throughout the world and in the United States has accelerated rapidly, with more than 56,310,543 confirmed cases worldwide as of November 18, 2020;and WHEREAS, as the result of the rapid and exponential spread of COVID-19, countries such as Spain, Italy, India, Czech Republic, France, Jordan, and the United Kingdom have imposed strict measures limiting travel, and ordering citizens to stay at home to avoid or minimize the community spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, as of November 18, 2020, the United States has recorded over 11,758,468 confirmed cases, with more than 255,109 deaths; and WHEREAS, the accelerating infection rate for COVID-19 led 43 states (including Florida), and countless local governments, including Miami-Dade County, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and others to issue orders curtailing mobility and travel, through "Shelter in Place," "Stay at Home," or "Safer at Home" orders, in order to minimize contact through social distancing measures and reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, with over 316 million Americans subject to such orders, accounting for over 97% of the country's population; and WHEREAS, according to John Hopkins School of Medicine, Miami-Dade is presently the county with the 2nd most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States; and WHEREAS, on July 12, 2020, the Florida Department of Health ("FDOH") reported 15,300 additional cases in Florida, shattering both state and national records for daily new cases reported since the start of the pandemic; and WHEREAS, on July 29, 2020, FDOH reported 216 Florida resident deaths, setting a fatality record in the state since the beginning of the pandemic; and WHEREAS, on July 24, 2020, Miami-Dade reported 3,362 new cases of COVID- 19, its highest single-day case increases since the start of the pandemic; and WHEREAS, as of November 18, 2020, the FDOH lists 897,323 positive cases of COVID-19 and 17,644 deaths, with South Florida being a "hotspot" for these infections • with 96,700 confirmed cases in Broward County, 59, 154 confirmed cases in Palm Beach County, and 205,536 confirmed cases in Miami-Dade County, together accounting for nearly half of Florida's confirmed case total; and 2 DocuSign Envelope ID: A2F926BF-AA46-40A8-981F-75A3B01615FF Declaration of a State of Emergency November 18, 2020 Page 3 of 16 WHEREAS, as of November 18, 2020, 3,723 individuals in Miami-Dade County have died due to complications from COVID-19, the highest total in the state; and WHEREAS, health experts urge people to practice extreme social distancing in order to "flatten the curve," which refers to the use of protective practices to slow the rate of COVID-19 infection, so that hospitals have sufficient room, supplies, and medical personnel for all of the patients who may need care due to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, the failure to "flatten the curve" at the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy has filled many hospitals in Italy beyond their capacity, forcing emergency rooms to close their doors to new patients, allocate ventilators and ICU beds to patients with highest chances of survival, hire hundreds of new doctors and healthcare personnel, and request emergency supplies of basic medical equipment, like respirator masks, from abroad; and WHEREAS, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the United States government's top infectious disease expert, has warned that COVID-19 could kill up to 200,000 Americans, despite social distancing measures already taken across the country; and WHEREAS, COVID-19 continues to impact first responders on a global and national scale - in Italy, 8,358 health workers have tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Italian National Institute of Health, and over 60 doctors who were infected with the coronavirus have died; and WHEREAS, as Spain overtook China on March 30, 2020, in the number of confirmed coronavirus infections, the pandemic stretched Spanish hospitals to their breaking points - at least six of Spain's 17 regions had reached their limit of ICU beds and three more regions were approaching it, according to Spanish authorities; and WHEREAS, the COVID-19 outbreak has already overwhelmed some United States hospitals in areas with the highest infection rates, leading the U.S. military to prepare to deploy field hospitals in New York and Seattle, send military hospital ships to Los Angeles and New York City, and task the Army Corps of Engineers to convert hotels and dormitories into treatment facilities for sick patients; and WHEREAS, the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship equipped with 1,000 beds and 12 operating rooms, arrived in New York City on March 30, 2020, as the United States Government seeks to ease the strain on area hospitals reeling from the coronavirus pandemic; and WHEREAS, the spread of COVID-19 via travel, including business and leisure travel, presents unique challenges to a resort community like Miami Beach, as attracting visitors and tourists is utterly incompatible with social distancing efforts; and 3 DocuSign Envelope ID: A2F926BF-AA46-40A8-981 F-75A3B01615FF Declaration of a State of Emergency November 18, 2020 Page 4 of 16 WHEREAS, in spite of warnings from City, County, State, and Federal governmental agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the "CDC"), thousands of students and other persons congregated in Miami Beach for "Spring Break" and other social activities, and congregated in and around parks, beaches, hotels, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and other places of public assemblage, without observing the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC, thus increasing the risk of transmission; and WHEREAS, as of April 2, 2020, at least four Miami Beach police officers, one of which was assigned to patrol the Ocean Drive area during a peak "Spring Break" period, have contracted COVID-19; and WHEREAS, there is reason to believe that COVID-19 may be spread amongst the population by various means of exposure, including the propensity to spread person-to• person and the propensity to attach to surfaces for prolonged periods of time, thereby spreading from surface to person and causing property loss and damage in certain circumstances; and WHEREAS, the media has reported that two religious leaders in the Surfside/Bal Harbour area have contracted COVID-19, and accordingly, continued gatherings in places of public assemblage, such as religious institutions, pose a risk to the health, safety and welfare of the people of the City of Miami Beach; and WHEREAS, since Miami-Dade County's initial declaration of a State of Emergency, Miami-Dade County has issued various Emergency Orders temporarily closing public and private facilities, including the temporary closure of all non-essential retail and commercial establishments